The Country's Engine

The Country's Engine

Paulistas like to say that if the state of São Paulo were an independent country it would be the second-largest economy in South America. As the most populous and most developed region in Brazil, the state concentrates nearly half the country's industrial capacity, and is home to its best universities and principal port. The city of São Paulo is Brazil's financial and business capital, but it has also emerged as a cultural capital too. Whatever happens in São Paulo matters to the rest of the country, and running the city and the state are among the most significant political posts in Brazil.
The center-left Social Democratic Party of Brazil has run the state for a